I hear talk of wishpoints but don't know what they are or how I would use them.

Solving puzzles and winning contests can get you rewards.  Sometimes these rewards are "wishpoints".  The glowing stars in the lower left corner of your browser window shows how many wishpoints you have.  These can be traded in for wishes that increase your power, give you magic spells, access to secret places, or other special things.

Click on the compass and select Wish Shop from the menu.  The wishes available to you, if you have at least one wish point, will be displayed.  As you use  wishes off the list, new and more powerful ones may appear.

From time to time, events can get you a large number of wishpoints too. Wishpoints are hard to get and a very valuable reward, but it is kept scarce intentionally. On public (or sometimes private) events, organized by A25 members or myself and Chewett, wishpoints can be given out in large amounts, to compansate for this scarcity and motivate MD to move in a certain direction.

For example, starting this forum category called "How do I..." was done by awarding wishpoints for existing players to write and answer questions, in this way, new or less experienced players can find their way easier.

You also get wishpoints for activity, over time, by getting some achievements, or by solving permanent puzzles and quests.